hope to see you tomorrow! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today," decision time. from washington to wisconsin, time is running out for budgets hanging in limbo. power punch, a tornado-packed weather system slams parts of the south. and road hazard. a driver in brazil plows into a and road hazard. a driver in brazil plows into a group of bicyclists. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with down to the wire. lawmakers in washington say they've made progress as they scramble to compromise on the nation's expiring budget. meanwhile, wisconsin's governor has laid down an ultimatum for

democrats. tracie potts has the latest from there. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. debate starts in washington today over this republican plan, the compromise to extend the current federal budget another two weeks to avoid a government shutdown. on friday, that extension would involve $4 billion in cuts to the federal government. democrats think there should be a longer extension. republicans actually want more cuts. they're trying on compromise here to keep the government running. democrats say they're skeptical of these cuts, calling them reckless, saying ty could impact unfairly teachers across the nation, federally funded teachers. but senate democrats seem willing to get this done to prevent the shutdown. it is a temporary solution. lynn one also mentioned wisconsin. wisconsin, the governor, in a very public battle there over the budget, has given democrats

an ultimatum, a deadline of today to return to the state so they can vote on these cuts that he's proposing. his budget, the rest of his budget, comes out today. lynn. >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. meanwhile, as moammar gadhafi struggles to maintain power in libya, u.s. officials are calling him delusional. after he denied attacking his own people, gadhafi told interviewers, quote, all my people love me. jim meseda has more. >> reporter: despite a ring of soldiers and heavy armor around the city, inside libyans were daring to protest. this funeral for a man shot in the head by a sniper turned into an anti-gadhafi demonstration. and just as quickly ended after someone firing a round.

everyone here seems to expect civil war and the government stokes the fear. >> hundreds of thousands, and i repeat hundreds of thousands of libyans will be killed and destruction everywhere for possibly years to come. >> reporter: throughout libya, battle lines are being drawn. this amateur video apparently shows a gun battle raging between pro and anti-government forces about 100 miles east of tripoli with both sides fighting to a stand still. further east in benghazi, volunteers signed up to participate in the battle. back in tripoli, gadhafi's regime remains in charge. there's an increasing sense of foreboding here. many libyans believe gadhafi when he says that he'll turn this country red with fire rather than being defeated.

back to you. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in tennessee, it was a one-two punch of mother nature's worst. a severe storm system caused flash flooding and destruction of homes. in one area, officials believe tornados ripped through, but the national weather service has not been able to confirm. in north carolina, an explosion of glass and metal was caught on a tape when a bus crashed into a boutique. the driver crossed through oncoming traffic and drove through sh rubbery. the driver has no memory of the accident. in florida, heavy winds and dry conditions are fueling a fast-moving wildfire. the blaze has forced officials to shut down and a road and is now threatening nearby communities. finally, in iowa, a stretch

of highway offered a spectacular show of wildlife. dozens of bald eagles could be seen perched on a tree and then tree after tree. some motorists pulled over to snap photos while others marvelled at the rare sighting that made a few of them come too a streeching halt. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, i feel like it's -- like we've made the turn. >> i know. i love march because -- >> i'm feeling it. >> march starts off winterish, but by tend of it, the days are so much longer and the days start to build. march can bring severe weather. yesterday, five tornados reported. we had about 171 severe weather reports. mostly the blue dots were the wind damage. the triangles, the red ones are where we had some of those tornados. so south carolina, georgia, up into west virginia and kentucky. all got hit hard. there's no storms left.

what's remaining of that cold front as it slides now through florida, just some showers heading through gainesville. this will sweep through daytona beach, orlando and tampa as we go throughout your morning. what's left? not much. it's a very quiet day. as that storm left, high pressure stretches from the great lakes down to texas. just some cold air coming into montana. that's where the wind chills are very chilly. everyone else, it's a cool morning with windchills in the teens. sunshine in most areas at or above average. poi enjoy the first day at march. that's a look at your tuesday forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. nice, simple forecast today. boston, a little chilly. the winds out there this morning, we'll have the windchill down into the teens at 36. raleigh, pretty good, 55. pittsburgh, we'll take it, 44. houston, texas, very nice at 72. lynn, i doubt the rest of march

will be as quiet as today, but we'll enjoy it while it lasts. thank you.bill. oil drops, so does wall street. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, is it a train wreck meltdown or a cry for help? another "today" show interview with charlie sheen. coming up, the nets and suns come down to the final shot. kansas's state peaks at the right time. how much would it take for you to play for the washington wizards. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. two "discovery" shuttle astronauts have completed their mission's first space walk after experiencing a minor glitch yesterday. a robot arm shut down, leaving one astronaut stranded, gripping a refrigerator size ammonias

pump. asked if he was comfortable web replied, i'm fine as long as it's not too much longer. lawyer for the couple accused of kidnapping adjacentsy lee dugard and holding her prison for three years says nancy greedo came clean hoping it leads to a lesser sentence for nancy. a houston fire department says a home day care operator charged in connection with a deadly fire that killed four children has fled to the united states and is now in nigeria, where she is from originally. tides marshall service has been asked to track her down. shock video out of brazil showed the moment when a driver plowed through a group of bicyclists. amazingly, no one was hurt and the nine people hurt have all been released from the hospital. and hollywood is mourning the loss of sex symbol and actress jane russell who starred in ".

>> prefer blonds." she died of respiratory failure yesterday at 89. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,286 after gaining 95 points yesterday. the s&p added 7 points. the nasdaq edged up 1 point. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 129 points while in hong kong, the hang seng rose 58. easing oil prices and signs of a strengthening economy put wall street back on firm footing monday. oil prices fell to about $97 a barrel on news saudi arabia was boosting exports. data showed consumer income rose by the largest amount in nearly two years in january and factory activity in the country's midwest hit a 22 1/2 years high this month ahead of today's national report. also help berkshire hath away's warren buffett saying he is

happy to make more acquisitions. sentis, which owns senior housing communities is buying nationwide health for $5.8 billion. health care reit is buying the assets of gensess health care for $2.4 billion. and late last night. blackstone group announced buying 588 u.s. shopping mall assets from australia's centro properties for $9.4 billion. the u.s. has approved the first deep water drilling permit in the gulf of mexico since last year's oil spill. today, fed chief ben bernanke delivers his twice a year economic report to congress. timothy geithner will tell a house committee they want congress to overhaul fannie mae and freddie mac. finally, eye heidi," germany's cross-eyed celebrity possum came

up one pig short of perfectly predicting the oscars in 127 hours to win best picture. pretty impressive, heidi. i love that. coming up, top ten college hoop battles and the player giving up millions so he doesn't have to play for one team. plus, the nets decide to block out the suns in new jersey. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. so much for in like a lion and out like a lamb. your tuesday forecast is coming up ph. you're watching "early today." . you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, it's common to hear folks complain about professional athletes and their salaries these days. but the case of mike dippy is truly unique. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. you know a team is bad when a guy turns down millions to play for them. that's the choice mike biddy made. after being traded to the washington wizards, bibby refused to play and forfeited $4.6 million. for that's kind of money, i'd pay for the washington generals. you can't put a price on happiness and no one likes to lose. the bulls crushed them in d.c. from start to finish. chicago dominated, 105-77.

nets haven't won much, either, but maybe this would help. final seconds of the first quarter, sasha nailed the buzzer beater from half-court. the suns were up after one. lopez getting the better of it here. minutes later, humphries had his reven revenge. the game went into overtime. darren williams had a chance to be the hero, but he missed the lay-up. humphries was there for the putback but didn't get it up in time, suns escaped, 104-103. ray allen hit a three-runs a minute to play. celts win it, 107-102 in utah. nuggets put together another impressive win. raymond felton to j.r. smith for the ally oop. denver beat atlanta, 100-90. college basketball senior night for the fighting irish, ben hans borrow was honored and celebrated dropping 30 on

villano villanova. tim alameda knocked down nine three-pointers, notre dame won, 93-72. kansas state has caught fire just in time for march madness. nobody wants to play the wildcats come tourney time. they won their fifth straight, 75-70. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. the latest from charlie sheen. coming, meet his so-called domisis. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, the story of one basketball coach's ultimate dedication to her team. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this tuesday. it's going to be a very nice day. temperatures are cooler than yesterday, but the thunderstorms are gone. sunshine just about everywhere from boston to maine all the way southward to atlanta. the cold front going through florida will provide but some showers. that's about it. beautiful from texas to denver, looking nice, too. cool around chicago and minneapolis. tomorrow's forecast does show some of that colder air sweeping through the northern plains. definitely winter there. but we're staying very nice throughout much of the eastern half of the country. if you're watching us on wcbd tv 2 in charleston, south carolina, glimpse into the nation's bloodiest conflict. see everyday items from the

civil war at the charleston museum. that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. >> thanks, bill. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. charlie sheen's unprecedented public feud with cbs, his producers and the world marchs on with no signs of slowing down. sheen followed up yesterday morning's stunning "today" show interview with a rambling live stream on an internet the website. by mid day, his veteran hollywood publicist had quit. he was then on another network in prime time competing against his own show "two and a half men" in some time zone. and he found some time with his current two live-in girlfriends to sit down with jeff rossen for a new interview. >> do you get embarrassed that he called you the goddesses? >> why? >> it could be worse, man. >> run with that. run with that. >> in answer to your question, i

told charlie that i knew then, i'm on the bus and i don't really care where the bus is doing. that's how we live. what do you want to do today? done, let's do it. >> and xach the entire interview with charlie sheen and friends later this morning on "today" on this nbc station. >> lynn, this is going to be a reality show and i'm sad to say that i think i would watch. >> it's interesting, all day long yesterday you sort of saw him popping up more and more and over and over again. >> this is a reality show. he has two people living in the house with him. >> yeah. add water and stir, right? >> yeah. and this comes to us from kxas in dallas, texas. one coach put her team first to almost a ridiculous extent. it was the third quarter of a pivotal game when coach amber went into labor, even contractions couldn't get her off the sidelines. she led her team to victory before delivering a beautiful baby girl.

as if that wasn't enough, 16 hours later, she was back on the court. inspired by their coach's die hard dedication, amber's team earned a birth to the state tournament. and look at her, she looked fantastic, as well. it's like a super mom. can you imagine? >> no. >> no. >> no. that's dedication to your players. >> exactly. 16 hours later, three months is the normal maternity leave. >> that was a great story to tell your kid later in life when they say what was my delivery like? >> exactly. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

we have 36 degrees on this the very first day of march, 2011. good morning to you i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. this is the first of march 2011. one person is dead after a crash overnight in the third street tunnel. it happened and i section just about constitution avenue, just at constitution avenue. the southbound lanes are still closed starting at new york avenue. the accident happened just after midnight. police say a woman was driving in the southbound lanes when she hit the back of a truck belonging to the department of

public works. three dpw employees who were working inside the tunnel at the time were also injured. they were all taken to the hospital along with the female driver who later died. police are still trying to reconstruct the accident scene. no word when the southbound lanes will reopen to traffic. family and friends of the victim of a tragic accident on the key bridge are speaking out. the 23-year-old was hit and killed by an alleged drunk driver as he pushed his moped across the bridge. he worked seven days a week to support his 2-year-old daughter and his mother. and he was devastated when police told him the driver was quote very drunk. >> very, very bad because the guy, he was so drunk and my brother, he's never drinking. he's just working, working. >> the driver who hit him was later found on